Homily For Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 12th October, 2025

 

Readings: 2Kings 5:14-17; Ps.98; 2Tim.2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

CULTIVATE THE INNER ATTITUDE OF SHOWING GRATITUDE TO GOD 

There is no doubt that the compassionate love of Jesus in solidarity with human suffering is evident in the scriptures and even in our daily lives. Little wonder, we have great events in the scriptures that illustrate the compassionate concern of Jesus in our daily struggles and how he wishes to set us free from the shackles of our troubles. 

But how often do we show gratitude for such great love? How often do we say thank you, Lord, for all you have done for us? For we often take this for granted.

This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where we heard the story of Jesus’ encounter with the ten lepers. Ten of them were cured, but only one, who was a foreigner among them, came back to thank Jesus. From this man’s gratitude, Jesus made a comment on human ingratitude when he asked “Was there no one to return and give thanks to God except this foreigner?”

The problem is that we don’t always remember that the ultimate source of our graces and gifts is God. That is what makes the Samaritan leper so special and distinguishes him from the other nine, because he realised that God is the source of his healing. 

Unfortunately, God’s greatest gifts, which are our life and health, our ability to think and achieve great things, are often taken for granted by most of us, because we see no reason to show gratitude to God for them.

More so, the story of these lepers is a good example of how we sinners can and should appeal to Jesus for cleansing especially from our sins. We should come in faith knowing that God is always willing to cleanse every sinner who comes to Him, just like Naaman in our first reading today.

But we must know that the devil does not want us to be saved, and he would tempt us to be arrogant and prideful, as we heard in the story of Naaman, who went to the land of Israel seeking healing from leprosy. And when he visited prophet Elisha, he was told to wash himself at the River Jordan seven times, and he would be healed. But he initially refused out of pride. 

This was exactly how the devil tried to prevent Naaman from receiving healing, not just from leprosy but also from his sinfulness and lack of faith, by placing pride and ego in his heart. Thank God for Naaman’s servant who reminded him to be humble and do what the prophet said in order to be healed. In the end, Naaman obeyed, humbling himself in obedience to the advice of the servant, and he was healed, and we heard how he came to thank God and his prophet. 

This is also what we have in our second reading today, where we heard St. Paul appreciating what God has done for him by linking all his success and challenges to that of Christ, saying: if we have died with him, then we shall live with him. If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us. We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful.

Dear friends, I don’t know what type of leprosy problems you are going through. Are you weighed down by sin or sickness? Are you feeling helpless and rejected?  Or do I know people who are helpless and need some help? Do I feel the need for Jesus’s help in some aspect of my life? We must know that Jesus wishes to set us free from sickness, troubles, challenges and manipulations of the evil ones. 

The Lord desires to be with us as we struggle every day to overcome the challenges in our families, society and the world at large. Therefore, we should not be afraid to approach Jesus for healing and restoration, all we need is an active faith and a heart of gratitude just like the foreign leper and Naaman

So, let us sincerely turn to God today and say thank you, Lord, for all the things he has done for us. The fact remains that God has blessed us, it’s time to come back and thank him. We have been saved from sin, is time to thank God. It is time to say I'm sorry, Lord, I'm sorry for having deviated from you, and now is the time to come back and say thank you, Lord. 

Yes, it’s time to thank God and all those who he has used to bless us. It’s time to thank our father and mother, our husband and wife. It’s time to thank our siblings, our uncles, aunties, teachers, workers,  employees and employers. It’s time to thank our maids, neighbours, colleagues, classmates, friends,  pastors, doctors and nurses. It’s time to thank those good people in government, civil servants, lawyers, police officers, military men and women who are faithful in their humanitarian services.

Yes, it’s time to thank anyone who has been of help to us. In fact, it will be a great thing if we can figure out one or more persons who have helped us, but we have never thought it necessary to say thanks. Today may be the right day to search, visit and call them and say thank you for all you have been to me. 

If they are dead, pray for them and extend this appreciation to their families. Don't miss this golden opportunity; don't let it pass you by. I will not miss it, I don’t know about you. So today, let us learn to show gratitude to God and to one another, for this is what God requires of us. Let us learn to say thank you, Lord, for that is the right and wise thing to do 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you know our innermost being and the challenges we are struggling with, come to our aid, we pray and cleanse us from all our physical, emotional and spiritual leprosies as we thank you for all you have done for us, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Saturday, Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 11th October 2025

Readings: Joel 4:12-21; Ps.97; Luke 11:27-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO HEAR AND KEEP THE WORD OF GOD

Reflecting on our relationship with God, family and neighbours, I asked myself which one comes first, because all seem to be important. This is very vital when we relate it to the response of Jesus to a woman in our Gospel passage today, who when Jesus was speaking to the crowd, raised her voice and said, ‘Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

Here, Jesus highlights that our primary relationship in life is with God. Even the deepest and most natural bonds are created within this primary love of doing the will of God. Mother and family were important to Jesus in his life and at his death, but his real family is centred around the new family relationship that is built among those who hear and keep the word of God. Therefore, our relationship with our family and neighbours is actually rooted in our relationship with God whose word is the light that guides our steps.

But the questions remain: What have we been doing with the word of God we hear every day? What kind of fruit are we bearing in our family and society? How has the word of God changed our lives and disposition towards our family? How has the word of God challenged and propelled us to love God and our neighbours? The answers to these questions are blowing in the wind.

Therefore, today we are called to be more practical and attentive towards listening to the word of God. We are called to put into action the words we hear every day. And concerning this new family of Jesus made up of those who hear the word of God and keep it, Joel in our first reading says: the Lord will be a shelter for his people, a stronghold for the sons of Israel his chosen people.

Dear friends, whatever we feed grows, and whatever we quit feeding dies and feeds away. So what are we feeding our souls with? How are we feeding on the word of God? Our society has enough hearers of the word; what we need now are doers of the word of God, men and women who will fill their lives with the word of God and, from the abundance of their hearts, live a life that will influence society positively.

Thus, when we hear the word of God, we must apply it to our daily lives because that's the only way we can feed our souls. And by so doing we become blessed brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your words we hear every day, Grant that we may cultivate the habit of hearing and keeping your words, to become living instruments of your words in our families, societies and the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 10th October, 2025

 

Readings: Joel 1:13:15.2:1-2; Ps.9;  Luke 11:15-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO  FRUSTRATE THE GIFT IN OTHERS BECAUSE OF ENVY AND JEALOUSY

One of the gifts of God to us is the gift of discernment, which enables us to know and distinguish between good and evil spirits. This gift is very important to the office of every leader. But it is sad and unacceptable when a leader decides to misuse this gift out of envy and jealousy. 

This is the attitude of some of the people in the crowd, especially those who belong to the party of the Pharisees, as we have it in our Gospel passage today. For we heard how Jesus had delivered a man possessed by an evil spirit. The spirit had bound his tongue and made him mute. 

But when Jesus had cast out the demon from the man and the man spoke, some people in the crowd who belonged to the party of the Pharisees watched this great miracle as it happened, and said that it was through the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that he was able to cast the devil out. 

This is because they were adamant in their opposition against Jesus, which was propelled by envy and jealousy. That is why they were unable to look beyond their narrow-mindedness and stubbornness in insisting that their way was the true way, while others, like our Lord Jesus, were wrong. 

But Jesus, as usual, used this opportunity to correct them by pointing out the mistakes in their argument. Thus, it tells us that it does not make sense for the demons to be fighting one another and so be divided among themselves. Because any house that divides within itself can not stand, and as we know the evil ones are always united in their plans to bring about destruction in human activities.

Dear friends, we are called today to make proper use of the gift of discernment which the Lord has given us. We must not let envy, jealousy and overambition make us deny the truth about the spiritual realities we experience from the Lord. We must not let the devil succeed in sowing the spirit of division among us. 

We should also ask God to endow us with the spirit of discernment and truth, especially during this period that we are faced with the ugly and sad attitude of human deception all over the world. Thus, Prophet Joel in our first reading today said: Sound the trumpet in Zion, give the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the country tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, yes, it is near. Therefore, we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by those who wish to see us fall.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle every day with the manipulation of the evil ones, give us the grace to overcome them, may we never be misled by the devil and all of his forces, as they often attempt to sow divisions and dissensions among us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 9th October, 2025

Readings: Mal. 3:13-4:2; Ps. 1; Luke 11:5-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DON’T GIVE UP IN YOUR PRAYER LIFE

Have you been truly in need of something from a friend who is capable of giving you what you need, but he is so busy that he cannot give you what you need now? Or have you been in a situation where you needed something from a friend but could not get it because you could not reach him easily?

Such a situation can put one under serious pressure. Then the question that comes to mind is, are we going to give up or persevere in our struggles by waiting or reaching out to him? This kind of disposition is what we experience sometimes when we pray and our requests are yet to be granted.

And this kind of situation is what Jesus is addressing in the story in our Gospel passage today as he continues his teaching on prayer. Thus, telling us that we should approach God with confidence as a friend, persisting until we obtain what we need.

We should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until we obtain the answer we need. Just like a boy asking his father for a fish or an egg, knowing that his father would not give him a snake or a scorpion instead of the fish or egg he had requested.

With this illustration, Jesus emphasised that if we, who are prone to evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give to those who ask him? In our first reading, we heard the Lord say: I will make allowances for those who serve the Lord as a man makes allowances for the son who obeys him. Then once again you will see the difference between an upright man and a wicked one, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him

Dear friends, there are times when we ask and we receive, seek and find, knock and it is opened to us. But there were also times when we asked but did not receive, sought but did not find, and knocked but the door remained shut.

In such moments, persistence and perseverance in prayer are what we are called to embrace. For they will help us to understand how to trust God knowing that he does not need to be informed of our needs, thereby encouraging us never to lose heart.

This is certainly one of the biggest challenges of our faith today. People are not just patient with God. We want to have everything right now as it is hot. Patience, persistence and perseverance are very difficult virtues for most people today. Therefore, let us learn how to be patient, persistent and persevere in prayer.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we are not patient with you in our prayers, give us the grace to persevere and be persistent in our prayer life and in every other thing we do in life, especially in our relationship with others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Wednesday, Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 8th October 2025

 

Readings: Jonah 4:1-11, Ps. 86, Luke 11:1-4

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR DISPOSITION TOWARDS PRAY?

Prayer is a means of communication between God and humanity. It is a close link by which we reach God who dwells in our hearts. It is through prayer that we discern the will of God for us. Hence, if we have not been able to discern the will of God for our lives or have not had any personal relationship with God in prayer.

Then perhaps we should consider examining our prayer life to know if we have been praying the right way. Thus, we can learn the proper way to pray from the prayer Jesus taught his disciples as the pattern of all prayers, as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

In this prayer, we have four traditional dimensions of prayer which include: glorification of God, submission, justice and protection. Jesus begins by saying: Father, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come, thereby teaching us that we begin any of our prayers by glorifying God.

Following this is our total submission to God’s providence when we say: Give us each day our daily bread. Then, we acknowledge the justice and mercy of God when we say: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And finally, we ask for God’s guidance and protection when we say: lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil.

This is important because it is the means by which we communicate with our God. But oftentimes we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desire without considering what God desires for us. This is obvious in our first reading today in the prayer of Jonah, who wished that God should condemn the people of Nineveh after his preaching.

But God, out of compassion, forgave them, and so Jonah was angry and prayed, saying: Ah, Lord, is not this just as I said would happen when I was still at home? That was why I went and fled to Tarshish: I knew that you were a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, relenting from evil. So now, Lord, please take away my life.

The Lord replied, ‘Are you right to be angry?’ ‘You are only upset about a castor-oil plant which cost you no labour, which you did not make grow, which sprouted in a night and has perished in a night. And am I not to feel sorry for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people?

Dear friends, it is time for us to change our perspective and wrong disposition towards prayers. It is time for us to spend more quality moments in prayer and be connected with God. We must let our prayers also be meaningful and genuine from our hearts.

It is time for us to improve the quality of our prayer life by imitating Jesus, who always prayed to his heavenly Father at every possible opportunity. But some of us end up spending lots of time reciting the prayers, and yet we do not mean what we say, because we have a wrong disposition born from unforgiving hearts, which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God.

LET US PRAY; Lord God, we do not know how to pray properly, as we carry out our daily devotion, teach us once again how to pray properly, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 7th October, 2025

  

Readings: Jonah 3:1-10, Ps. 130, Luke 10:38-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE ACT OF LISTENING IS WHAT THE LORD REQUIRES FROM US

Listening is one of the vital aspects of the human person, which is very much lacking in most of our communication these days. This is because, oftentimes, we worry about so many things in life, trying to let people hear us without taking the time to listen to them. 

Some people are always trying to satisfy everyone without listening to what really matters. I have also come across people who are often worried about how to make others feel more comfortable without minding their discomfort. They are so concerned with pleasing others even when they are not pleased. What a great sacrificial virtue that is not common these days.

 

This sacrificial virtue is the attitude of Martha in our Gospel passage today where we have the story of how Martha was so busy trying to make Jesus comfortable when he visited them at their house in Bethany. But when Martha observed that her sister Mary was not helping out in the preparation. 

But rather than being busy listening to Jesus, she said to Jesus: “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her”.

 

Here, Jesus is not condemning this great sacrificial virtue nor condoning laziness. Rather, he is saying that being busy without listening and listening without doing is worthless. Hence, he gently corrects the impression of Martha who was too busy and distracted with so many things that she risks losing sight of what is important, that is, listening to Jesus. This is because Martha gives the impression that Mary is just sitting there doing nothing. But she is listening to Jesus.

 

However, Jesus is not telling us to be content with sitting down and listening to his word, for he always insists that listening to his word means putting it into practice. His objection to Martha's request is that she was too anxious and distracted by many things, so she was not able to listen to him, and for Jesus, listening is the best option. 

It is this act of listening that saved the people of Nineveh in our first reading today because when they listened to the preaching of the prophet Jonah, the whole city of Nineveh went into great mourning and repentance before God. For everyone who listened to Jonah beginning from the King, who issued an order that the whole city and its people should repent from their sins, right down to the lowest among the people, all humbled themselves, tore their clothes and wore sackcloth as a sign of penance.

 

Dear friends, in our relationship with Jesus, are we more of the listener or more accommodating and caring? Are we more like Martha or like Mary, for they were both friends of Jesus? Today many of us are so busy and anxious about so many things that we have no time to listen to God speaking to us and addressing the situation we are busy trying to solve. Today we are called like Martha to pause and listen so that we can hear God speaking to us and directing us towards the right path.

We can link this situation to the memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, which we are celebrating today. An event where we recall the famous victory of the Christian faithful against the enemies of the Church in the battle of Lepanto, where through the prayers and intercessions of Our Blessed Mother Mary the Church became victorious when the situation of the Christian faith was in extreme danger and was bitterly divided by the various heresies and splinter groups appearing at the time due to the Reformation movement. 

Then, Pope Pius V called all of Christendom to pray the rosary fervently, invoking the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, that her Son, Jesus, would be with the faithful, fighting for the survival of the Christian faith, which was under persecution and trials. And through the power of their dedication to praying the Rosary, God granted victory to his faithful people, and this is the root of our October devotion.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always so busy with the things of this passing world, that we often do not have time to listen to you. Give us the grace like Mary to choose the better part, which is to truly listen to your word and then be well disposed to be caring and hospitable, just like Martha. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 6th October, 2025

 

Readings: Jonah 1:1-17;2:1-10; Ps. Jonah 2:2-7; Luke 10:25-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR INHERITING ETERNAL LIFE

As humans, we are always desiring to know what life requires of us, especially when we are faced with the realities of life. We often want to know the things that should be our priority. So we always ask questions that will help us in addressing most of the challenges we encounter. These questions are sometimes meant to test our ability towards understanding the realities of life.

This is the deposition of the lawyer in our Gospel passage today, who came to Jesus to test him by asking him questions concerning the requirements for inheriting eternal life. This lawyer backing up his question with his knowledge of the Ten Commandments, referred to the 'Shema Israel’,

This is the prayer that the people of Israel knew and recited from their earliest years, from which they learned that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind and to love their neighbour as well. In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do.

But this lawyer needed more clarification concerning these requirements, so he asked Jesus a second important question when he said: Who is my neighbour? At this point Jesus did not just explain, he illustrated who a true neighbour should be with the famous story of the good Samaritan. In fact, from the story, Jesus did not just answer the question: ‘Who is my neighbour?’

He also demonstrates what a true and righteous neighbour should be like, thereby showing us that our neighbours are often those we least expect to be neighbours. For our neighbour can be anyone, even the ones we most despise or fear, just like the good Samaritan, and this tells us that a true neighbour shows compassion, love, and care and makes sacrifices for others.

Dear friends, love is the centre of all the teachings of Jesus, for love is a gift from God to humanity. It is like the stream water, so innocent and pure. True love is not hidden; it radiates from the innermost being of a person who has experienced it. If we love God, then, we will see him in others and treat them justly and honourably. We will not hurt our neighbours but do our utmost best to live in peace with them. This is what Jonah is struggling with in our first reading today.

The truth is that the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today as most families exist by grace and not by love. Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all loved one another. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy community.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, in you, resides the fullness of love. Grant that we may truly love you and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.